Elliðaey Island Lodge

It’s a sight that piques the imagination: a small, white building, contrasted on all sides by flat green grass, and, beyond that, treacherous, Seussian cliffs. It’s difficult to ascertain which photo was the original, iconic glimpse into this isolated piece of Iceland. However, by 2010, multiple shots of the scenic isle were proliferating across the internet.

Spread by social media accounts dedicated to travel and “interesting facts,” by 2012, it was widely misbelieved that the island was the home of Icelandic singer-songwriter Björk. Although former Icelandic prime minister David Oddson had indeed offered exclusive use of an island named Elliðaey to Björk in February of 2000, as she had “…done so much for the country,” the island in question was located in the bay of Breiðafjörður, west of the Icelandic mainland. (She formally declined the offer in 2004, in light of public outcry and concerns regarding tourism-related over-exploitation.)

Elliðaey (our Elliðaey, that is) is located off Iceland’s rural southern coast, part of the Vestmannaejyar (or Westman) Islands. The history of the island is somewhat murky, due in part to misattributions like the one described above. However, at some point, a small hut was built on the island, which stands today and is used for storage and as a workshop. In 1953, the larger white structure seen in the images was built by the Elliðaey Hunting Association.

This building, which is apparently powered via propane gas and lacks water except that collected via precipitation, serves as a rustic lodge for anyone daring (or bored) enough to make the journey by boat to the rocky beach on the island’s eastern side.  

This trip can be made only from the town of Vestmannaeyjabær on Vestmannaejyar archipelago’s principal island, Heimaey. It has a population of about 4,000. Heimaey is the only regularly populated island of the archipelago, but ferry passengers can see that there is one similarly isolated structure on several of the outlying islands. Residents of Heimaey have built these lodges, and many local families claim membership rights to spend time at one or another of them. There’s not much to do except admire the puffins and the scenery, but that’s exactly why some people come.